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War heroine Nancy Wake dies

Nancy Wake, the French Resistance fighter who became Australia's most decorated World War II heroine, has died in a London hospital at the age of 98.

Raised in Sydney, Ms Wake trained as a nurse and moved to France in 1932 where she married French industrialist Henri Fiocca.

Joining the Resistance after the German invasion in 1940, she helped shelter displaced Jews fleeing the Nazi regime.

Credited with helping to save thousands of lives, Ms Wake was placed at the top of the Gestapo's most wanted list.

She was nicknamed "The White Mouse" by the Gestapo because she was so hard to capture.

She fled France for England on the advice of her husband in 1943.

Trained as a spy by Britain's Special Operations Executive, she then returned to Nazi-occupied France to work with the Resistance in preparation for the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944.

Parachuted back into France, Ms Wake's job was to distribute weapons among Resistance fighters hiding in the mountains.

"In those days it was safer, or a woman had more chance than a man, to get around, because the Germans were taking men out just like that."

To arrange the delivery of weapons and other supplies, messages had to be sent via radio phones.

Ms Wake's group lost theirs during a raid by German troops.

This disastrous loss meant Ms Wake had to pedal more than 200km to another radio operator.

Sonya d'Artois, her her old Resistance comrade, said "Nobody can beat Nancy, nobody."

"She is the most feminine woman I know until the fighting starts. Then, she is like five men. She killed German sentries with her bare hands."

After the war she learned that her husband had been tortured and killed by the Gestapo, but he never revealed anything about her or the Resistance.

She is regarded as a national hero in France, which decorated her with its highest honour, the Legion d'Honneur, as well as the Croix de Guerre and a French Resistance Medal.

She was also awarded Britain's George Medal and the US Medal of Freedom, but it not until 2004 she was awarded the Order of Australia.

In accordance with her wishes, she will be cremated privately and her ashes scattered at Montlucon in central France.

She was amongst the greatest of unsung Australian heroes.

I am disgusted that our country didn't give her the recognition she deserved.
Most Australians Who only watch/ listen to commerical TV/Radio have probably never even heard of her.

A great loss.

There i fixed that for you !

Colleagues and friends are paying tribute to three of the ABC's most experienced and respected newsmen - journalist Paul Lockyer, cameraman John Bean and pilot Gary Ticehurst - who are feared to have been killed in a helicopter crash.

"A team of three of our finest. It's going to be one of our saddest days ever."

- ABC managing director Mark Scott

Long-time ABC executive Ian Carroll died today surrounded by his family.

Carroll, 64, the husband of ABC presenter Geraldine Doogue, died peacefully at Sydney's Royal North Shore hospital after a battle with cancer.

Through his long career, Carroll was pivotal to the development or creation of many news programs at the ABC, including Nationwide, Lateline, The 7.30 Report and Four Corners. He also worked for commercial networks.

At various times in his career, he was chief executive of international channel Australia Network and established the pioneering digital TV channels Kids and Fly. In 2007 he was appointed Director of Innovation.

There i fixed that for you ! ABC in particular have regularly sought comment from her aboust various issues. Several documentaries are shown around Anniversary & Rememberance times.

Sadly in this day and age most Aussies are only interested in gang raping footballers & surley commentary from the likes of Sandilands

SILVER screen siren Diane Cilento has died in north Queensland at the age of 79.

Known as feisty and free spirited, Cilento won wide acclaim in the 1950s and '60s, and was nominated for an Oscar for her role as the seductive Molly in Tom Jones.

She also appeared in The Admirable Crichton, Hombre and The Wicker Man.
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She was nominated in 1956 for a Tony award for her Broadway turn as Helen of Troy in Tiger at the Gates.

She also attracted fame as the wife of Sean Connery, who at that time was playing James Bond. She later married playwright Anthony Shaffer.

The daughter of Sir Raphael and Lady (Phyllis) Cilento, she was born and raised on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

The family went to New York where she discovered dancing and acting but she returned to Queensland in 1975, later establishing an open-air theatre named the Karnak Playhouse in the Daintree Forest near Port Douglas.

Cilento published her memoir, My Nine Lives, in 2006.

She is survived by her son, Jason Connery, and daughter, Giovanna Volpe.